Midwest Rentals demolition set

Old buildings to start tumbling down next week

Demolition will begin Monday on the former Midwest Rentals buildings at Fifth and Brown streets.

After years of sitting idle, the Midwest Rentals buildings at Fifth and Brown streets will start coming down next week.

Denney Cos. will start the demolition work Monday, the company said.

During demolition, parking will be prohibited on the east side of Fifth Street, the south side of Cincinnati Street, and the north and south sides of Brown Street.

Sidewalks near the demolition zone will be temporarily closed, the company said.

Access to the alley east of the project will be restricted. Flagmen will be on site to assist residents who need to use the alley to get in and out of garages. The company did not say how long the demolition would take.

After more than half a century in the same location, Midwest Rentals moved in 2007 to the former Carter Lumber building at old U.S. 231 and Indiana 25.

The move made way for what the city and homeowners in the Historic Centennial see as a more appropriate reuse of the property: owner-occupied housing.

A neighborhood investment group partnered with the city in 2011 to purchase the property from Jim Andrew, a local businessman and owner of Henry Poor Lumber Co., who had acquired the site in a real estate swap with Midwest Rentals.

The Lafayette Redevelopment Commission is paying for the demolition.

City officials and property owners who have invested in the project through the Centennial Neighbors' Investment Group LLC hope clearing and reseeding the site will make it more marketable to potential developers.

- David Smith/dsmith@jconline.com

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Midwest Rentals demolition set

After years of gathering dust, the old Midwest Rentals buildings at the corner of Brown and Fifth Streets will begin coming down next week.